Here's Where to Get Drunk After Work!

by Sarah Josephs

10.24.2011

So you wake up early, head over to your 9-5 job, and then sit there all day dealing with boring and tedious work/praying for the sweet release of death until are finally free to leave. Yeah, it’s time for a drink. There is a reason they call happy hour “happy hour,” but nothing can detract from your desired level of alcohol-induced euphoria more than struggling to choose a bar to have your drink. To alleviate this concern, Clubplanet has compiled a list of some of the best happy hour bars in NYC, so you can drink happy and entirely stress-free.

If you happen to be in the East Village during happy hour prime time, Boxcar Lounge is definitely a city favorite. It is the perfect place to have a party, enjoy a comfortable date, or stop by for a pre/post dinner drink. This New York City bar serves up a variety of beers and wine, and over 50 different cocktails, such as homemade sangria, bellinis, mimosas, and sakatinis. During happy hour, buy one, get one free 'til 10 p.m. (8 p.m. on weekends) and drinks are about $4-6 each.

Featured as a critic’s pick in New York Magazine, Crocodile Lounge offers one thing that most New Yorkers can’t turn down: pizza. Did we mention the pizza was free? That’s right, with every drink you order, you get a free six-slice personal pie. If that’s not inviting then I don’t know what is. Aside from the pizza, the Crocodile Lounge chose their main form of entertainment to be their Skee Ball machine in the rear of the bar. It’s a good choice for some laid back, after work fun (and the drinks are cheap too).

For a nicer happy hour experience, perhaps for that post-work wooing of your co-worker (tisk tisk), head over to the Empire Hotel’s rooftop lounge. The Emptire Hotel Rooftop is lower-key than Gansevoort's Plunge in the Meatpacking District, and the views are priceless. When the temperature goes up, drink prices go down, at least during happy hour. The normally $12-14 drinks are reduced to $8 in the afternoon and evening, and who can beat cheap, top-shelf cocktails while watching the sun set?

There is not a more quintessential place to go drinking than The 13th Step, located on the Lower East Side. The bar's name actually refers to a term used in AA, where after you have finished steps 1-12, you hook up with your sponsor. Clearly this place is promoting irresponsibility and debauchery, an ideal certainly supported by their happy hour specials. Not only does the happy hour last a happy 8 1/2 hours, but the prices can’t be beat. From 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, the entire bar is half price, knocking the drinks, which are cheap to begin with ($5-6 on average) down to $2.50 - $3 a piece. Keep the party going on Tuesday nights with The 13th Step's $1 draft deal and if you get hungry, snack on some of their mouth-watering bar fare (think bacon, egg, and cheese sliders; cheese/gravy/bacon-smothered tater-tots, and pulled-pork-stuffed burgers). The 13th Step will definitely clear any negative thoughts about your day’s troubles, or for that matter, any and all type of thought process you might have.

If you find yourself walking the streets of SoHo in need of libation, we reccomend checking out Obivia. The low-key fun lounge has insane happy hour deals, and you will probably find yourself wanting to stay past the 8 p.m. deadline. They specialize in their delicious sangria, and, during happy hour, a pitcher runs for only $12, an anomaly in New York. Combine that with $5 drink specials and $3 draft beers, and you have definitely found yourself a comfortable spot to hang out for a while. They also feature food specials, such as their $3 sliders, $6 bucket of buffalo wings, and $4 cheesy bacon fries.